“Deadpool 2” was directed by David Leitch and stars Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Zazie Beetz and Morena Baccarin. The film is about Wade Wilson (Reynolds) once again breaking the fourth wall, but this time while bringing a group of mutants together in order to try and save a kid who doesn’t understand the full potential of his powers. Oh yeah, and he has to deal with Cable (Brolin), who is from the future looking to stop his mission.

The first “Deadpool” was a breath of fresh air for the superhero genre, as the R rating allowed for absurd violence and incredible comedy that had not been seen to date. So, I came in to the sequel looking for much of the same that worked the first time around, and if that’s all I got, I’d be satisfied.

The Good

It cannot be overstated how much Reynolds is built for the role of Deadpool. Reynolds is tremendous once again as the merc with a mouth, bringing the perfect comedic timing and delivery with every joke, while also having a moment here and there where he brings solid emotion to the character.

Switching the directors struck fear in me, but Leitch has done a terrific job at continuing what worked so well two years ago. The comedy is as sharp as ever, with jokes coming out about the X-Men, actors in the film, Marvel, DC and pretty much anything relevant to the superhero world imaginable, and the references consistently went over brilliantly.

Again, this being an R-rated comedy is a wonderful thing, and something that shouldn’t be overlooked. “Deadpool 2” proves once again that violence and vulgarity can be pros, as these two things work so well to improve the film as a whole. Incredibly raunchy jokes or overly explicit moments of gore allow for the film to spike in it’s entertainment value, and Leitch does a great job at adding these things without making them overkill.

Brolin, in his second major superhero role in less than a month, is terrific as Cable, and his backstory was easily the most emotionally resonant piece to the film. Rob Delaney shines in his minor role as Peter, the every man, but it was Beetz as Domino who stood out as my favorite character besides the man in the title. Beetz kills it in the role, as her powers are amazing to watch, and she adds the perfect amount of humor to her dialogue. There’s also a sweet little surprise appearance that was awesome to see on the big screen.

The action set pieces are, for the most part, an improvement from the original. Leitch brings his “John Wick” and “Atomic Blonde” experience to create some unique and well-shot moments of action that were incredibly fun to watch.

The end credit scene. All I can say without spoiling, but the end credit scene is amazing. That is all.

The Bad

Where “Deadpool 2” tries to expand on its predecessor is with an added attention to emotion and drama, but that is also where the film falters the most. I just could not get on board with the dramatic shifts from comedy to drama that the film attempts, though I do commend the effort. Still, most of these scenes fall flat on their face and ran way too long, leaving me to often just wish we were getting back to the funny one-liners and upbeat mood that this franchise is being built on.

For most of the movie, the visual effects go over totally fine, maybe not the greatest I have ever seen, but certainly nothing to aggravate me. But then there’s this one scene towards the back half of the film, an extended sequence of sorts, that looks, to put it nicely, absolutely abysmal. I don’t know what happened here, but the CGI took a total nosedive, and the scene looked like a rubbery mess.

Conclusion

“Deadpool 2” manages to hold on to almost everything that I loved about the first movie, while adding fresh jokes and a unique storyline to avoid it feeling redundant. The new characters go over very well, especially Cable and Domino, and Reynolds continues to prove that this was the character he was born to play. I can’t quite say it is better than the original, but “Deadpool 2” is far from a stepback, and is a thoroughly vulgar ball of joy for, as the film states, the whole family.

Wyatt Crosher is a student at Ohio State as well as writer for 1870 Magazine and does movie reviews for his website wcreviews.com/ Keep up-to-date with Wyatt’s reviews on his Twitter page.

Score

- 8/10

8/10

8.0/10

Wyatt Crosher

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